Chennai: The Syndicate of University of Madras on Thursday has decided to reform the Institute of Distance Education (IDE) and it's exam system following Deccan Chronicle's report on exam scam.
In an exclusive report on Monday (November 13), DC highlighted how the examination system in IDE was systematically hacked by unscrupulous elements using their nexus with the study centres.
It is learnt that the higher education secretary Sunil Paliwal has brought the issue to the notice of the members. “The Syndicate is going to take steps for tightening the exam process and plug the loop holes. IDE will undergo structural changes”, sources said. “Soon there will be no outstation exam centres. All the candidates will write their exams only in Chennai”, they added.
A committee constituting only academic staff is expected to manage the transition. Madras University Vice-Chancellor S.Duraisamy , who chaired the meeting, said, “We are going to adopt UGC norms fully and will convert everything on e-content.”
On the scam he said, “The committee which is enquiring about the exam scam will submit its report in a month. We will take actions based on the report”. Among other issues, syndicate also discussed about the deployment of 14 teaching staff from Annamalai University to Madras University.
The Syndicate members differed on the issue and it was discussed in a length. “They are only going to be appointed for period of three years on agreement. The government is going to pay them. It's just an ad-hoc arrangement and they all are qualified staff”, the V-C said. But some members pointed out that it's against the statutes of the University and staff members from other universities cannot be deployed here. “University is an autonomous body governed by statutes and there are precedents that it rejected the government orders which is against its rules”, they said.
